The document provides an overview of Microsoft Azure, including what it is, its service models, and how it can be used to deploy Microsoft Dynamics AX. Azure is Microsoft's cloud platform that offers integrated computing, storage, networking and application services. It has three main service models: Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS). Dynamics AX 7 will deploy on Azure Infrastructure as a Service using SQL Azure and replace the Windows client with a new browser-based interface. Lifecycle Services on Azure can be used to automatically deploy Dynamics AX environments for development, testing and demonstrations.

1. Windows Azure Overview

2. Topics
 Why Azure?
 What’s Azure?
 Azure Service Models
 AX on Azure
 Azure VPN
 Azure Identity Management
 References

3. Why Azure?
“ I just think about three things. There are a few other efforts
we do, and I’ve been very clear about those efforts and why they exist
and why we are proud of them.
But, there are three products in all of this. There is Windows,
there is Office 365, and there is Azure. That’s it. Everything else to
me is, of course, you can call them features, you can call them parts of
that, and even there there’s complexity. ”
Satya Nadella , Microsoft CEO

4. What’s Azure?
In short, it’s Microsoft’s cloud platform: a growing collection of integrated
services — compute, storage, data, networking, applications and more.
Key benefits:
 Reduce costs
 Save time
 Gain flexibility

5. Azure Service Models
Azure offers three types of services:

6. Azure Service Models

7. Azure Service Models

8. AX on Azure
 AX 7 will be deployed using Azure IaaS and it will use SQL Azure, Microsoft's
PaaS database.
 MorphX development environment will end in AX 7, as all development will
move to Visual Studio.
 New browser based interface will replace the Windows client, not only
exposing standard AX client features but also replacing the Enterprise Portal.
Dan Brown, Dynamics AX General Manager
@ AXUG Summit 2014 in St. Louis

9. AX on Azure
Microsoft Dynamics Lifecycle Services (LCS)
Lifecycle Services is a cloud based collaborative workspace, used by customers
and partners to manage Dynamics AX projects.
LCS can be used to deploy AX environments automatically on Azure (IaaS),
offering currently the following options:
Demo
Standard demo
Retail essentials demo
Dev/Test
Standard dev/test
Retail essentials dev/test
Retail e-commerce dev/test
Retail mobility dev/test

10. AX on Azure

11. Azure VPN

12. Azure Identity Management
Azure supports several different cloud identity technologies, including:
 Windows Active Directory in the cloud using Azure VMs.
 Azure Active Directory to give your users Single Sign-On (SSO) to Software as a
Service (SaaS) applications.
 Azure Active Directory Access Control to let users log in using identities from
Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and others identity providers.

13. Azure Identity Management

14. References
What is Microsoft Azure?
http://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/overview/what-is-azure/
Deploy Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R3 on Azure using Lifecycle Services [AX 2012]
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn741581.aspx
Virtual Network Overview
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/azure/jj156007.aspx
About Secure Cross-Premises Connectivity
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/azure/dn133798.aspx
Azure Identity
http://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/articles/fundamentals-identity/
Microsoft’s CEO Breaks Down The New Soul Of His Company
http://techcrunch.com/2014/11/10/microsofts-ceo-breaks-down-the-new-soul-of-his-company/
Microsoft Dynamics AX '7' will use SQL Azure for cloud deployments, release about a year away
http://msdynamicsworld.com/story/microsoft-dynamics-ax-7-will-use-sql-azure-release-still-year-away